MacMadame

I rarely watch commercials any more but I am on some non-WLS and non-dieting boards that still have a thread here and there about dieting. They make me sad and frustrate me. In the "annual yearly questionnaire" thread on one board, over 50% of the people talked about being a dieting and/or exercise failure. But they are going to hop right back on the band-wagon in 2009 continuing to do the same things they've always done that didn't work before with the hope that this year they will somehow, someway be different.

Only if her little friends are also dogs. :cry_smile: So is that likely?

Oh I forgot to answer about the Protein drinks. I find this is very personal. Stuff a lot of people like, I might hate. Stuff I liked last week, I hate this week. Right now I love Chike. It is whey and soy and that seems to work better on my tummy. I've loved it for two months so I think I'll stick with it.

Call your Lap-band doc! This happened to one of the other moderators on here and she had to get unfilled for a while. She'd be the first to tell you (when she sees this thread) that waiting too long to get this looked at is a bad idea.

Okay, I haven't got a band, but I can tell you that all the band docs say that throwing up is not normal and if you are throwing up you have to see them immediately. You are probably just overfilled but you stay overfilled for too long, it *will* lead to slippage. So call your doc on Monday and let us know what the response it!

No, because it's too high in sugar and too low in protein. My doc would have had a cow if I'd used it. :tt2:

I just got: The High-Protein Cookbook I'll let people know what I think of it when I attempt a few recipes, but it looks good.

I don't know how it works in Canada, but in most places, you do start by taking to your family doctor. What happens next depends on their own beliefs about WLS. One thing I do encourage people to do is to educate themselves and be prepared to fight the system. There are plenty of docs out there who are completely ignorant about WLS and will get in your way, if you let them. Coming to them educated and armed with data is one way to get around them. This is a great place to get educated, too!

1) 45 lb. in 3.5 months is actually a good weight loss especially with a band. 2) Esophageal stacking is bad news and can lead to bad health problems. Personally, if I had it, I would be asking about a revision to another WLS, not going to see a shrink. (Though maybe your surgeon wants you to go for other reasons?) 3) Mini-bypass is WORSE NEWS. The surgery is dangerous and people gain their weight back. The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons does not include mini-bypass in their list of viable procedures and reputable docs don't do this procedure. But there are other WLS types you can revise to such as the regular bypass, the sleeve and the duodenal switch. Since you have done so well with the band, I would consider a restriction-only surgery like the sleeve over something with malabsorption like bypass or the switch. But those others are viable options too. Here's a chart that explains the differences: Weight-Loss Surgeries Compared

Can your surgeon get you scheduled before your insurance expires? Some will do that if you explain the situation.

Baby food has a lot of sugar. Plus it tastes horrible. :tt2: Some people get lactose intolerant with WLS. Sometimes it's just temporary. I have it a bit. I can't drink more than 4oz of milk without getting cramps. But Lactaid solves that.

They are all different. So you'll get a bunch of answers here. Some will say they are fine, some will act like they are horrible and not as good as "real" food and everything in between. I use them. I have a Protein shake every day for Breakfast and I have special protein hot chocolate at night. My surgeon is more than fine with this.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Personally, I have seen a lot of BAD information passed out by NUTs. And that's all I'm gonna say about that. :tt2:

Welcome to LapBandTalk! I'm from CA so I can't answer your questions about the program in MASS but we do have a section for MA here and also a subforum called "Doctors & Hospitals" Those are good places to go in order to check out a program.

Here are some links I've collected when I was researching the sleeve. Site with info culled from OH - Answers all the basic quetions ASMBS position paper on sleeve - includes reports of early studies LapSF Educational presentation to FACS - includes some 2 year results LapSF Two Year Study LapSF Five Year Study - abstract only LapSF Five Year Study - presentation (requires Windows to play) Literature review on the sleeve - requires $$ to get the full text unfortunately Sleeve best for over 50 crowd Video of a sleeve with lots of education discussion Video of a sleeve that is more about the operation Ghrelin levels after RnY and sleeve Ghrelin levels after band and sleeve Diabetes resolution in RnY vs. Sleeve Comparison of band to sleeve - literature review

I was on a PS' site and he had some videos. In one of them he was saying something like "children are wonderful, but no one wants to look at their bodies and see the signs they gave birth" and I'm thinking "moron." Of course I want to see the signs. Erasing the signs that you've *lived* is creepy IMO. So is living your life so you don't put signs on your body (like people who deliberately school themselves to have bland facial expressions). (Needless to say, I won't be using that surgeon.) That said, I have no moral objections to plastic surgery and will probably get some. But not to pretend I'm something I'm not (like pretending I'm not a mom or that I'm 25 years younger than I am). I will get it to fix problems. Like not being able to buy pants that fit or having boobies so big that I get backaches.

The ones I've talked to want you at goal for 3-6 months.

Hey, Chickie! I've been thinking of you ... trying to decide whether I'll need a panniculectomy or not. Your article convinced me that I should consider it and not lump all PS into the frivolous bucket. And her little friends too.

I figured that out eventually. :tt2: That means it won't be calibrated until Monday. (Gym is at work.) But that's okay. It arrived in the mail AFTER I did my "run" so it's not like calibrating it would be any use to me.

Btw, I just checked my original recipe and you are supposed to bake at 385. I will update the original posting.

I've found that most WLS patients think their doctors walk on water whether they are paid or not. That's why, when you hear *anything* negative about a doctor, you should sit up and pay attention and not dismiss it.

I got my Nike+! I haven't calibrated it. Or gone up to the web site.

IME most people pay for their PS and a lot of the surgeons where I live don't take insurance. Well, you can submit, but they don't have contracts with the insurance companies so they are always "out of network" and you are responsible for the difference between what insurance pays and what they charge.

Mini-Mac's room could be on Clean Sweep. I've already used their method of taking everything out of the room and putting it on sheets to sort and then only putting back in what fits to deal with it. It helped, but she's done her best since then.

Oh, I forgot to say that I do use pumpkin. I tried applesauce once but everything was too flat. Sweet potato might work but the cool thing about pumpkin is that it doesn't add that much to the carbs and it bumps up the protein a bit.